The use of location-based services or applications for portable devices, most commonly in a cellular telephone network, have become widespread. These are services or applications that are provided to subscribers based on their current geographic location. Such applications are LOC-AID® People™, which allows one user to know the location of another user merely by dialing the target user's cellular phone number and LOC-AID® GEO-FAM™ an application for notifying a user when the cell phone of another user has either entered or left a predetermined geographical region. These location-based applications provided by LOC-AID Technologies, Inc. are by way of example only. Other location-based applications may identify certain commercial establishments within a predetermined area of the cellular phone or may even respond to queries from the cellular phone user as to places of interest or people of interest.
For end users of location-based services, the technology although developing has been satisfactory, as evidenced by the growing number of location-based service users. However, for location-based service developers and for commercial entities making use of location-based services to drive traffic to their establishments, the current model for location-based service use has been less than satisfactory. Specifically, location-based services as provided on cellular phones are driven by the actual location of the user at the time of use of the location-based service. Developers of location-based services develop these applications in response to a perceived need. But in actuality, they design these applications in a vacuum because there is no feedback with respect to how the applications are actually used. Although the number of times a location-based application may be monitored, and in some cases the time of use may be monitored, there is no monitoring where the application is being used. Because these applications are location driven this is a vital statistic for monitoring application adoption and use.
Furthermore, in some instances these location-based applications are created to direct traffic to a specific location such as a restaurant, store or other point of interest to the end consumer of the location-based application. In order to better develop marketing schemes, these location entities need to know where the users of the location-based applications are in fact located when using an application designed to motivate that user to visit their location.
Accordingly, a methodology and system which overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art by providing information regarding use of location-based applications as a function of the geographic location of the user when making use of the location-based application is desired.